1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates, generally, to sailboards and pertains, more specifically, to apparatus for placing tension on the luff of the sail.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Sailboarding is presently increasing in popularity partly because it is generally easier to transport and to rig than any other type of sailing apparatus. As with conventional sailing craft, sailboards derive their power from a sail utilizing a mast for luff tension and a boom for leech tension to contour the sail for optimum propulsion.
Since sailboarding is an extension of the ancient art of sailing, numerous structures for rigging a sailboard are similar to the time tested methods of conventional sailboats, i.e., block and tackle structures. Simply stated, the rigging process involves three major steps: The attaching of the sail to the ends of the mast and removing the slack in the luff; mounting the boom to the mast and attaching the clew of the sail to the opposite end of the boom; and applying the final tension to the luff. A block and tackle structure is commonly used for all these tensioning operations, but such procedure with block and tackle structure is generally cumbersome, time consuming, and generates excess line to be stowed.
In that sailboarding is conducted in a variety of wind speed conditions, anything from light breezes to gale winds, the operator must accommodate this diversity by matching the size of the sail to the conditions. Since wind speed can fluctuate widely during any sailboard outing, the operator must often spend time rerigging.
While quick release levers have been used for interconnecting stays on sailboats, no such device is known for placing selective tension on the luffs of sailboard sails. Stays are used to support the mast of a sailboat with respect to the hull of the boat and are not used nor useable with sailboards. Both U.S. Pat. No. 3,866,559, issued to R. Joensen and U.S. Pat. No. 4,280,432, issued to T. Dessel, show an interconnect between the deck of a sailboat and a stay for quick release of the stay.